Kodachrome look on Leica M9

[Herman Zhang]

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Does anyone have any idea on how to replicate the Kodachrome look on the Leica M9 with only in-camera settings? 

[a.noctilux]

Really serious ?

Kodachrome is not replicable by any means.

[3D-Kraft.com]

There is not much you can do with in-camera settings. Perhaps set the white balance a little warmer or increase ISO leading to more noise (-> grain simulation) but all this will not improve image quality.

Many reviews and blogs are already talking about the M9 having a Kodachrome-like look, and it is at least closer to that in terms of tuning than later models. The rest must be tweaked in post processing, where some profiles / presets may help to get a better starting point.

[pedaes]

12 minutes ago, 3D-Kraft.com said:

talking

Talk is all it is. Ask for some  evidence in form of an image. I do wonder how many have seen a well projected Kodachrome transparency. As soon as you look at a scanned/printed image you have introduced a whole load of other variables.

[a.noctilux]

Kodachrome look has little to do with Kodachrome.

I'm glad having done some thousands of real Kodachrome slides.

I said to myself that in those days, we had no choice( though slides from Fuji, Konica, Agfa, 3M and many brands were used also).

...

Projected Kodachrome with Pradovid, Colorplan CF is something else.

Even the loud noise of fan is part of the experience .

[adan]

Two problems here:

1) In-camera settings really only affect "baked in camera" .jpgs.

Raw/.DNG pictures are not truly affected by camera settings* - they are simply the data (as monochrome brightness/luminance values for each pixel) directly off the sensor, with no "settings" at all UNTIL they are processed later in computer software (where the USER adds the settings: the color profile chosen (embedded M9, Adobe this-or-that, C1 this or that, custom-made by user.), WB, contrast, saturation, and so on).

*exceptions - obviously, the "photographic" settings for exposure (shutter speed, aperture, ISO) - and Leica's auto-correction in M cameras for red/magenta and green/cyan edge stains with wide(r)-angle lenses.

2) WHICH "Kodachrome look?" K-chrome was made for 70 years, in multiple flavors and characters - and different chemicals, over time. Kodachrome, "new" Kodachrome, Kodachrome II, Kodachrome-X, Kodachrome 25, Kodachrome 64, Kodachrome 40 (for tungsten studio lights), Kodachrome 200.

They all look different from each other in significant ways - and even those individual looks could be varied with exposure: delicate, bright and unsaturated, or intensely saturated with underexposure. Purple skies, cyan skys.

Go through all of Ernst Haas' portfolios from 30+ years of Kodachrome shooting (~1952-1985), to see the many "Kodachrome looks" over time.

https://ernst-haas.com

 

 

[3D-Kraft.com]

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I think, most of the people who remember "Kodakchrome look", have seen Kodachrome 64 or 200 developed with the K-14 process. If you look into discussions of it's characteristics and how to imitate that look (e.g. here: https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/zuzkfc/what_are_the_film_characteristics_of_kodachrome_64/?show=original) then the usual attributes are "warm" (pronounced red/yellow/orange), high contrast, pronounced blue (e.g. blue sky) and purple, some hue shift towards orange and blue, less dynamic range compared to today's CMOS sensors.

Imaging Resource made some measurements of the Leica M9 here: https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/M9/M9A5.HTM. If you look at this, you see that the way, how the Leica M9 handles saturation and hue accuracy (or the way in which it deviates from the norm), you see some similarity. The dynamic range of the CCD sensor is also lower, compared to today's CMOS sensors.

That does'nt mean, that the M9 really replicates that look or that you can tweak camera settings to come closer to that look, but this may be the reason, why many reviewers recommend the Leica M8 and M9, when you want to have an experience close to the analog film look (mostly compared to Kodachrome).

Thanks for the link to Ernst Haas' impressive portfolio. It shows, that scanning Kodakchrome can be done successfully 😉 

Edited November 10, 2024 by 3D-Kraft.com

[jaapv]

On 11/10/2024 at 6:17 PM, pedaes said:

Talk is all it is. Ask for some  evidence in form of an image. I do wonder how many have seen a well projected Kodachrome transparency. As soon as you look at a scanned/printed image you have introduced a whole load of other variables.

Don't forget Cibachrome prints from Kodachrome 25 - I still cherish the way they look.

[pedaes]

22 minutes ago, jaapv said:

I still cherish the way they look

Agreed. I tried some Metallic paper to try and reproduce the gloss, but nowhere near. I have less fond memories of how delicate they were whilst wet and a dreaded nick of blue on the edge. 

[adan]

All the top-end photogs I knew around 1972-84 used Dye Transfer (R.I.P. 1994) to print their Kodachromes.

Vastly better tonal range than Ciba/Ilfochromes - but required at least 25 times as much work, time, and money (materials) - plus a long learning curve. A bit cheaper if used for multi-print editions (the gelatin dye-matrices were reusable, up to a point).

https://www.hnoc.org/virtual/daguerreotype-digital/dye-transfer-process

https://www.charlescramer.com/dyetransfer.html

https://www.lightsongfineart.com/INFORMATION/DYE-TRANSFER-PRINTING

Inkjet prints on smooth-gloss heavy-weight fiber/baryta papers (e.g. Epson Exhibition Fiber) come pretty close, however.

And they are more or less a dye-transfer process. It's just that the dye is transferred via a print-head, dot by dot, instead of gelatin matrices for the whole image at once.

Edited November 12, 2024 by adan

[pedaes]

7 hours ago, adan said:

Epson Exhibition Fiber

Yes, use this paper and it is excellent. Named as Epson Traditional Signature Worthy in UK/EU for some reason. 

[Ko.Fe.]

Get Fred Herzog "Modern color" .

This is visual template for scanned Kodakchrome colors.

Adjust contrast accordingly, play with color balance. Save as preset. 

At least two presets sunny and cloudly.

But if sensor was replaced...

On my M-E 220 I gave up on getting redendering as good as it was with original sensor.  It is dumping it to the  blue. Just like modern Sonikon sensors. 

Edited November 22, 2024 by Ko.Fe.